'' '

ACCENT ACCENT 17

the class called by some writers on music gram-

matical or metrical; and are more or less
inherent in the very nature of music. There is
however another point of view from which accent
^
the chas - tisement, the chu
=t==l=
tlsement

—
may be regarded that which is sometimes called
the oratorical accent. By this is meant the
adaptation in vocal music of the notes to the
words, of the sound to the sense. "We are not And thy right hand Tic - to - • • - rious.
speaking here of the giving a suitable expression but in the chorus from '
Deborah,
to the text ; because though this must in some in which the pronunciation of the last word
measure depend upon the accent, it is only in according musical accents will be
to the
a secondary degree connected with it. What victorious, it is simply the result of in-
is intended is rather the making the accents of
difference or inattention, as is shown by the
the music correspond with those of the words. fact that in other parts of the same piece the
A single example will make this clear. The word is set correctly.
following phrase is the commencement of a Closely connected with the present subject,
21.
and therefore appropriately to be treated here,
is that of Inflexion. Just as in speaking we
not only accent certain words, but raise the
oh love - ly er - nmld en t
voice in uttering them, so in vocal music,
well-known song from the Sehwanengesang
especially in that depicting emotion, the rising
by Schubert. The line contains seven syllables, and falling of the melody should correspond as
but it is evident that it is not every line of
far as possible to the rising and falling of the
the same length to which the music could be
voice in the correct and intelligent reading of
adapted. For instance, if we try to sing to the text. It is particularly in the setting of
the same phrase the words Swiftly from the '
recitative that opportunity is afforded for this,
mountain's brow,' which contain exactly the
and such well-known examples as Handel's
same number of syllables, it will be found
'Thy rebuke hath broken his heart' in the
impossible, because the accented syllables of ' Messiah, or ' Deeper and deeper still
' in '

the text will come on the unaccented notes of '

Jephtha, or the great recitative of Donna
'

the music, and vice versd. Such mistakes as Anna in the first act of Don Giovanni may
'
'

these are of course never to be found in good

be studied with advantage by those who would
music, yet even the greatest composers are
learn how inflexion may be combined with
sometimes not sufficiently attentive to the
accent as a means of musical expression. But,
accentuation of the words which they set to
though peculiarly adapted to recitative, it is
music. For instance, in the following passage
also frequently met with in songs. Two
from 'Freischiitz,' Weber has, by means of
extracts from Schubert are here given. In
syncopation and a sforzando, thrown a strong
asking a question we naturally raise the voice
stress on the second syllable of the words
at the end of the sentence and the following ;

'Angen,' 'taugen,' and 'holden,' all of which

quotation will furnish an example of what may
(as those who know German will be aware)
be called the interrogatory accent.
are accented on the first syllable.
22. 25. ScHUEBET, ' Schbue MiiUerin,' No. 8.

Trdbe An - gen, Liebchen,

Gms3
% N "
Ter • drieast dich denn mein eo schwer ? Ver*

f -
<

^S=^^^ =lar-
i|==rti=U=;E
hoi den Braut - chen nicht. Btiirt dich denn mein Slick bo Behr?

The charm of the music makes the hearer The passage next to be quoted illustrates
overlook the absurdity of the mispronunciation ;
what may rather be termed the declamatory
but it none the less exists, and is referred to accent.
not in depreciation of Weber, but as by no 26. 'Winterreise,' No. 21.
means a solitary instance of the want of
attention which even the greatest masters
have sometimes given to this point. Two
short examples of a somewhat similar chai-acter
|Si^^^^^^^^Bin matt zum Xieder • einken. Bin todtlich schwer verletzt

are here given from Handel's Messiah and '

' The word matt is here the emphatic word
'
'

' Deborah.
In the former the accent on
' of the line but the truthful expression of the
;

the second syllable of the word chastisement music is the result less of its being set on the
may not improbably have been caused by accented part of the bar than of the rising
Handel's imperfect acquaintance with our inflexion upon the word, which gives it the
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